Turn My Christmas RightSide Up
by Christine1827
Summary: Taylors words ring in Gabriella's head over and over. The perfect guy for her is her best friend. And she is in love with him. But he is her best friend... Christmas One-Shot. Troy


**A/N: Hey, readers! I know I should be working on the next chapters for **_**Beat up by a Girl**_** and **_**Cure for the Ache**_**, but this idea popped into my head, and DUH! It's Christmas! I should get into the spirit somehow. Maybe this can make up for the fact that I am going to finally put the tree up tomorrow, which is two days before Santa breaks into my house! ;-)**

**Anyway, happy reading and please review! I think I might write a one-shot for every holiday, because I am going to have way too much fun writing this!**

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**Turn My Christmas Right-Side Up**

Gabriella Montez coiled her self up into a ball under the crimson blanket that was covering her. She had turned eighteen precisely ten days ago. Today was Christmas Eve—the day things were supposed to go right. Hell, she had just turned eighteen, it was Christmas Eve, she was going to go see her parents tomorrow morning to celebrate, and she was passing in her first year of college with flying colors.

So why was she upset?

Well, she was not exactly _upset_. She was just… so confused it was threatening to take over her very being. Her Christmas was being turned upside down. Her best friend, Taylor (whom she had met while in high school and they had both been accepted into Yale) had come over the night before so she could see her best friend. She was also visiting her parents for Christmas, but she was spending Christmas Eve with them, too. So the two girls met up and exchanged gifts. After gifts had been given and they had thanked each other redundantly, they sat on the floor of Gabriella's dorm and sipped hot chocolate and had good, old-fashioned girl talk.

"_So, Tay, how is everything with you and Afro-Man?" Gabriella questioned teasingly, referring to Taylor's boyfriend of almost a year._

"_Chad," Taylor put emphasis on his name and sent Gabriella a playful glare, "and I are doing pretty good. Did I tell you how our date went last night?"_

"_Yes, but I know you are going to repeat it all over again with more details than you added the last time. So, go on. Gush about your little 'love puppy'."_

"_Did I just detect sarcasm?" Taylor put her hand over her heart in mock hurt._

"_Nope," Gabriella popped her lips on the 'p' for effect, "You heard no sarcasm. None at all."_

_Matching grins were on both of their faces as Taylor relayed the events of her most recent date with Chad. Some people would get annoyed about hearing the same thing over and over again. But Gabriella loved hearing her friend talk about her boyfriend. Taylor had not had the best of luck with boyfriends in the past, so Chad was a blessing that Taylor was never planning to let go of. It would be like prying two super-high powered magnets apart. Taylor's eyes would sparkle, she would use her hands while she talked, she would throw her head back every once in a while and make a purr-like sound over something Chad had said, sigh over and over again, and every once in a while, her deep brown eyes that matched Chad's perfectly would glaze over and you could tell she was having a vivid memory about the date._

_Gabriella 'ooh'd and 'ahh'd in all the right places and after every last scrap of pointless information was relayed, Taylor gushed just one more detail. "I think he is the one, Gabs. I know I haven't known him very long and that I'm young, but it…. It is indescribable." Taylor's eyes glazed over for a split second._

_Sighing along with her friend, Gabriella decided to tell Taylor something. "Tay, do you think I'll ever find someone that I can love as much as you love Chad? And have it returned?" This thought had been plaguing Gabriella lately. She had never had a boyfriend, nor had she ever been kissed._

_Eighteen years old and never been kissed._

"_No." Taylor looked down at her lap and Gabriella stared at her incredulously. "I think you have already found him, but you won't do anything about it." Taylor knew Gabriella would know exactly who she was talking about._

"_Troy?" Gabriella had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping._

"_Exactly." Taylor smiled knowingly, "You know exactly who I am talking about. I never said his name or anything. That's a sure sign you like him, Gabs."_

"_Wha—No! I… uh. No! That…not…. Do…?" Gabriella rambled, speechless._

"_Gabriella, list the qualities you need and want in a guy." Taylor said, using Gabriella's full name to show that she was serious._

"_Why?" Gabriella didn't protest anymore when Taylor shot her a look that stopped any doubt._

"_Okay, gosh. Um, he has to be funny—but not immature, be able to have fun yet be able to be serious, care about his grades, want to get somewhere in life, want a serious relationship, not tease me for being inexperienced, love me for me…" Gabriella stopped when she noticed that Taylor was counting on her fingers._

"_That's seven, keep going!" Taylor said holding up her hands and wiggling all the fingers that were up._

_Gabriella shook her head, having no clue where Taylor was going with this, but continued. "He has to be really romantic yet simple," Gabriella watched as Taylor looked to think about that one then raised and eighth finger, "know me really well before we actually date, love root beer!, be easy to talk to, like animals, not judge me, be poetic…" Gabriella threw her head back and sighed. _

"_Tay, where are you going with this?" Gabriella saw that Taylor was holding up three fingers and knew that she must be remembering to add ten to the total number of fingers she was holding up._

"_You know, to be at Yale, you are pretty stupid." Taylor teased, "Or you just lack common sense."_

"_Probably the latter," Gabriella said, hell-bent on figuring out where Taylor was going with her counting and embarrassing her. "Now, tell me what you are counting for!"_

"_All the things you just said, except for one that I am unsure of, Troy has." Taylor said. "Is Troy poetic?"_

"_Yeah. He has written me a poem a few times…." Gabriella blushed._

"_Oooh! Even more evidence!" Taylor was really getting annoying. Well, not annoying, but frustrating._

"_About what!?!?!" Gabriella almost yelled._

_Taylor took her time. She took a sip of her hot chocolate, rearranged herself on the floor, and covered herself better. "Well, Gabs. Think about it. You and Troy have been _just_ best friends for ages. You guys are perfect for each other, whether you guys will admit it or not."_

"_Tay, he has had girlfriends, if he liked me, he would have asked me out." Gabriella tried to argue._

"_He has had three girlfriends, and none of them have lasted more than two weeks. One of those girls, he broke up with right after she had said something mean about you. She didn't know that you two were best friends because she was new to the school and she said that you were a boring geek that needed to get some friends. He dumped her right then and there, walked away, walked up to you, slung his arm around your shoulders, you put your arm around his waist, and the happy couple walked to lunch." Taylor shot down her point of argument._

"_Well, has never said anything to me about him liking me. If your right about this and he does like me that way," Gabriella had another thought to add, "Which I don't think is the case"_

"_Gabs, he likes you that way. His eyes light up all the time when he is around you, he always compliments you, you practically sit in his lap all the time! And you guys go out to movies and stuff all the time! Those are pretty much dates." Taylor shot it down right away._

"_That still doesn't answer why he wouldn't have told me. We tell each other everything. Nothing is awkward between us." Gabriella reasoned._

_Taylor didn't even have a comment about how Gabriella told Troy everything. Taylor knew they were extremely close. She and Gabriella had just been friends since high school, while Gabriella and Troy had been inseparable since birth. Their parents were best friends, so Gabriella and Troy grew up together. "Gabriella! For the love of Chad! He didn't tell you because he wouldn't want to risk you guy's friendship!" Taylor said as if a monkey could figure it out faster than Gabriella was._

"_Exactly. I don't want to risk our friendship. For _anything_. I can't live with out him, Tay!" Gabriella reasoned, looking down into her lap._

_Taylor picked up on the fact that Gabriella looked to be thinking about all this. She also noticed that Gabriella just admitted she needed Troy in her life and that she didn't say the words 'I don't like him' the entire conversation. "If your friendship is as strong as I know it is, then a break up won't be able to pry you guys apart."_

The subject was dropped. No more words concerning Troy were exchanged the rest of the night. It's not like that they were mad at each other; Gabriella was just a sponge soaking up all these new doubts and information. They talked for a while about school and watched a movie. Several cups of hot chocolate later, Taylor left and Gabriella had a sleepless night which leads her to the place she was in now.

It was a little after noon and Gabriella was still on the couch in the same position. After an hour she finally drifted off to sleep, only to be woken a short while later. A hand was caressing her cheek. "Mmm…," Gabriella noised, not even opening her eyes, "Hey, handsome."

"It's a little scary how you always know when it's me." the deep voice chuckled.

Gabriella finally opened her eyes to find hers locked with piercing ocean blue orbs. Gabriella had never denied that he was the most handsome man that she had ever laid her eyes upon. Gabriella got lost in his eyes. The bright blue color was mesmerizing and was permanently lodged in Gabriella's brain. Yep, Taylor was right. It was as if she had had an epiphany over night.

Troy was her hopes and dreams wrapped into one manly package. He was perfect for her. They were perfect for each other. There was no other way to explain it. Gabriella had had her eyes closed for way too long, she had always been waiting for a guy to sweep her off of her feet, and he was right in front of her. They had been best friends for ages, and now Gabriella was wanting more. It took her eighteen years for her to realize she was in love with her best friend.

It sounded as if it was a paragraph from a book. She should have known she loved Troy as more than a brother, but the thought had never crossed her mind. Then Taylor went and just chucked the thought right at her. Now she was sure of it. Gabriella Montez was in love with Troy Bolton. Gabriella was in love with her best friend.

And that certain friend's face was right above hers, looking down at her with love.

"Brie...." Troy said in a strangled whisper, "I…-"

Gabriella's gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips, and Troy noticed it. This was his dream come true. He had known he was in love with Gabriella since eight grade when Kenneth Blazer hit on her. Needless to say, they guy never touched Gabriella again after Troy was done with him. Troy had felt so jealous that Kenneth touched her arm. The fact that Gabriella shied away and told him she wasn't interested didn't ease the jealously. In fact, it brought a smirk to his face. And now, the girl of his dreams was right below him, looking at his _lips._

Troy switched his gaze from her eyes to her lips to find them slightly parted and so inviting. There was no way Gabriella liked him. No way in hell. So why was he still wishing he would just kiss her?

Because he knew she would _not _want him to.

"Troy…" When Gabriella whispered his name in the same strangled whisper, he snapped. He _had_ to kiss her. His very breath depended on it. Seriously, being this close to her erased his memory. He almost forgot to breathe. Only when the pain his chest tightened he would breathe in.

"I would... really like to kiss you right now, Brie." Troy found it hard to make the sentence. His breath ghosted across her face, causing Gabriella's eyelids to flutter closed. Troy was barely holding on to his sanity. His knowing that she had never been kissed before and that she may not even want this were the only two threads making up the rope that was noosed around his hold on the world.

"Please do…" Gabriella could only manage two words. How on earth could she when he was this close?

Troy leaned down just a slight bit to connect their lips in a sweet kiss. No matter how much Troy wanted to just slip a hand under her and crash hers to him, never letting his lips disconnect with hers, he couldn't. That was Gabriella's first kiss. He wanted this to be perfect. He was on his feet beside the couch hovering over her. He had been stroking her cheek for a while before she noticed him. She was perfect so she deserved everything else to be perfect, too.

Much to Troy's delight and surprise, Gabriella leaned up a little bit to connect their lips again. This kiss was not as short and neither Gabriella nor Troy had opened their eyes. Maybe this was just a really good dream. Neither person wanted to open their eyes to find that this fantasy wasn't really reality.

Troy was the one to pull back this time. He didn't want her to feel pressured into anything. When they broke away and confirmed that this was indeed reality, they both had the biggest grins on their faces. "Troy, I'm sorry." Gabriella said as she sat up on the couch and Troy sat beside her.

"What are you sorry for?" Troy asked with a wink, but truthfully he was worried. What if she was going to apologize for kissing him because she really didn't like him as more than a friend at all?

"For not noticing sooner," Gabriella scooted closer to Troy as she had his arm slung against the back of the couch. Since she seemed shy about it, Troy dropped his arm from the back of the couch and onto her shoulders before pulling her into his side.

"Brie, can I buy a ticket to your train of thought here, please?" Troy asked in his typical fashion.

"I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize that I am _in love_ with you." Gabriella looked away from his face and buried herself into his side. There it was again; that whole, out of a book thing. She had never dreamed about being _in love_ with someone before she dated them or even exchanged plain 'I love you'. But, here she was, professing her love to her best friend.

"I hoped you would. Or at least that you would give me a chance, but I never wanted to risk our friendship." Troy confessed before placing a finger underneath her chin to bring her head up and connect their eyes, "And, Brie, I am in love with you, too."

Gabriella initiated a kiss once again; short and sweet, but with all the love in the world. "I guess Taylor was right after all." Gabriella realized, amused.

"Huh?" Troy was once again off of her train of thought. Gabriella explained the conversation between herself and Taylor and then went on to tell him how her epiphany happened.

"Wow. I didn't think anyone else would be able to notice that I loved you so much." Troy would have some questions to ask Taylor next time he saw her. "Taylor is my new best friend."

"Hey! Are you selling my spot away already!?" Gabriella joked, hitting Troy lightly in the chest.

"Well, I was hoping you would accept the upgrade to girlfriend…," Troy joked right back, but held her gaze to show that he was serious. He wanted her to be his girlfriend officially.

"Of course I will accept!" Gabriella grinned for the billionth time that night. "But what benefits come with this promotion?" Gabriella acted serious.

"Getting to do this…" Troy cradled her hand that was resting on his abs in his before lacing their fingers together, "and getting to do this…" Troy leaned down carefully and kissed her. This kiss wasn't short and sweet. Gabriella was getting the hang of it and wanted to test the grounds. Just as the kiss was about to escalade to a make out session, Troy and Gabriella pulled away at the same time.

"I guess those benefits are good enough…" Gabriella murmured before kissing him again.

_Turn My Christmas Up-Side Down_

Troy and Gabriella were wrapped up in each other on the couch with the blanket draped over them when Troy remembered what day it was. Only Gabriella's amazing kisses could make him forget about it being Christmas Eve, the day for presents!

Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Merry Christmas, Brie!" Troy said cheerfully as he passed her the gift to his girlfriend.

Gabriella almost gasped once she opened the box. The grin that had been on her face all night widened even more if that was possible as she picked the necklace up out of the box. The pendant was a lopsided heart that was mostly solid silver but a hole was in it that kept the pendant connected to the chain. The chain was also silver with large links. It was simple yet completely beautiful and elegant.

"Thank you so much, Troy! I love it!" Gabriella held the necklace out to him, "Will you put it on for me?"

"It would be my pleasure…" Troy snapped on the necklace as Gabriella held her hair up. After the clip was secure he covered her hand that was holding up her hair with his. Gabriella put her hand back in her lap as Troy laid her hair down and fanned it around her. She turned towards him and he smiled at the look of her wearing a necklace he got her.

"Oh! Troy, your present is under my mini tree over there but you are way too comfortable for me to get up." Gabriella smiled as she said this. She was once again tucked into him tightly and his hand was running up and down her back softly and sweetly.

Troy chuckled. "I understand. I don't want you to move either." He kissed the top of her head. "What did you get me?"

"A basketball signed by all the players that were at our high school." After Gabriella said this Troy was almost jumping with glee.

"I haven't seen those guys in ages! Thanks, Brie!" Troy was confused, but happy none the less. "How on earth did you do that!?"

"A woman never tells!" Gabriella teased, causing him to pout. "Put that lips back in your mouth, little boy! I cant kiss you when your all goofy like that!" Gabriella giggled as Troy suddenly stopped pouting and leaned towards her.

Right before their lips was due to meet Gabriella jumped up from the couch and ran to her mini Christmas tree. She grabbed the basketball that was hidden behind it. "Catch your present!" Gabriella hollered before chucking it at him even though he caught it effortlessly.

Troy hollered something that sounded like 'I'm gonna get you' through her dorm as they went running around. Troy quickly caught up to Gabriella and snagged her waist in the cage of his muscular arms.

"And you thought you were going to get away!" Troy scoffed before turning her around so they were facing each other.

"Well, I was hoping!" Gabriella teased back before kissing him passionately.

This entire night was as if it was directly out of a book. This was so perfect. Gabriella couldn't get over the fact that she and Troy were a couple. She could wait for the fact that they were going to get a few embarrassing 'I told you so's' from all of their friends and even a few people they barely even knew. This was going to be the best relationship of her life. And hopefully, the only one.

**A/N: Okay! Presto! Do you guys like it? Tell me in a review! Check my profile and read my Twilight Christmas one-shot, if you love me! That little button is both of our friends! Click it!**


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